Many ‘low-risk’ sex offenders not being assessed by Lincolnshire Police, report reveals

Lincolnshire Police have been criticised for postponing assessments of registered sex offenders and failing to respond to reports of missing children effectively.

A police effectiveness report published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) on February 18 has ranked the force overall as ‘requires improvement’ at investigating crime, managing offenders, protecting vulnerable people from harm, and supporting victims.

Inspectors uncovered a worrying backlog in the completion of assessments on sex offenders, which have been temporarily suspended on so-called low-risk offenders while officers complete statutory visits on other registered criminals.

The report also criticised the force for not having “a co-ordinated or consistently well-supervised process” for responding to reports of missing children.